Problems with TT RDS/TMC solved?

paulc1976 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 27, 2004 Posts: 30

http://www.yournav.com/content/n/373/Problems_with_TT_RDS-TMC_solved.html

Hope this will have the same result in the UK

AlanCollier · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 19

How much are these going to be sold for?
Is the traffic data provided actually any use in practise?

--Alan

forky · Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:49 am Post subject:

Has this been fully tested in the UK Question

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Darren · Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:57 am Post subject:

I wouldn't hold your breath, they're better but not a solution IMHO.
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Darren Griffin

Andy_P · Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:32 pm Post subject:

Have you tried one, Darren?
I tried to get an extra paragraph added to that review about use in the UK.... I was told it hadn't been tried (by them) in the UK but that the reception situation in Holland was almost as bad as in the UK, and that the comparison between the old and the new was significant.

Whether TomTom themselves have tested it in the UK they aren't saying, but if they haven't then they are bigger fools than even we think they are!

And I think if a price had been announce, the review would have said so....

forky

Andy_P · Last edited by Andy_P on Sun Sep 16, 2007 1:14 am; edited 1 time in total

JockTamsonsBairn

Darren · Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:09 am Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:09 pm Post subject:

OK we have the OK to discuss this. Opinions are mixed on this new version, some of the UK testers have found it has improved matters, I have not managed to get any signal at all!

Whether it is the answer to all our prayers is another matter, my feelings are it is not. Ostensibly it looks the same as earlier designs but has a longer cable and small ferrite's on the antenna itself. MikeA our resident antenna expert reckons it has better sensitivity so they deserve some credit for improving it but until I get a signal it's not the solution!

I'm awaiting an answer on how existing customers get their earlier designs replaced with this new one, there will be a replacement program and I will post details as soon as I have them!
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Darren Griffin

mikealder · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:49 pm Post subject:

I have tried this new 'improved' RDS-TMC unit around Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lincolnshire with quite a considerable success, it does not offer 100% connection but I have found it typically will lock to the correct channel and receive data within seconds of switching it on, this is in areas previously devoid of any reception at all. To quantify this, previous receivers on long trips from Home to Coningsby would result in reception around 10% of the time, 15% on a good day. The new receiver offers reception for about 85% of the same trip, the missing bits I can live with as they were / are of short durations.

Previous attempts by me to drag performance out of the RDS units have centered around connecting performance aerials to the devices with some limitted improvement, this new unit does not require any external feed to work. Just install in line with the instructions and DO NOT run two RDS devices in the car at the same time as this leads to interference.

You do not get the green ball lit all of the time, but reception of information is quick and it can rapidly receive information, 190 plus traffic incidents received during a 20 minute drive is the best I have seen to date, this again was in an area (Fylde coast) where you never received any data with previous iterations of the receiver.

I would also like to point out the photograph in the linked article is incorrect and details a different RDS-TMC device to the new one, this probably explains why the part number had been wiped out prior to publishing it. The unit in the picture is the receiver previously offered to Europe as a new device with x20T products IIRC.

It could be in Darrens case the receiver is DOA or the local transmitter is down, my unit is working receiveing data from over 60 miles away from the transmitter, as supplied with no external feed connected.

So in answer to the questions about testing in the UK, yes it has been performed in some areas, certainly not all (but there are more people than Darren and myself with this in the UK), the improvement in reception is considerable, I still feel the omission of an external aerial connection point is a bad move, but as I mentioned earlier I have not found the necessary, not everyone wants cable aerials spread across the dashboard though, and I now need to find something else to use the roof mounted aerials for, the car resembles a pin cushion!

All we need the suppliers to concentrate on next is the quality of the suppied data, which is, in my opnion a separate issue to the previous problems centered around reception, improved reception will shift the onus to the quality of data IMHO, but the new designed receiver is a significnt step in the right direction - Mike

Tim Buxton · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject:

My findings are more in line with Mike's than Darren's, although in my case reception with the unit installed following TomTom's advice fell below par (although still better than with previous units).

With it mounted a dfferent way on the windscreen I can get reception from home (nr. Gatwick) all the way around the M25 to Heathrow. With the previous incarnation I lost reception at Leatherhead and got it back again at Staines. Testing is ongoing.

Darren and I are going to swap receivers sometime this week to see how we fare with the other's.
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Tim

Darren · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:36 pm Post subject:

It's worth noting that MikeB has had similar results to mine, i.e. zero reception.

As Tim has said though, we'll try swapping our devices to exclude a faulty unit as being the root of my poor results!
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Darren Griffin

Darren · Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:45 pm Post subject:

OK, some good news! I can now get a signal on the M3 which was a no-no before and other team members have had similar results. I was initially sceptical but it would appear that repositioning the antenna has made a big difference.

So how do current owners of earlier units get hold of a replacement if they are having issues with poor reception?

Log a support call with TomTom and they will arrange a swap for a replacement unit, the Product number of the v3 receiver is : 4V00.013.
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Darren Griffin

DennisN · Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject:

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